Another perk of springtime and warmer weather was taking a walk out on the grounds with your best friend. And in matching dresses. Those were necessary. Except not really. But they were kinda pretty, and it meant she got to hang out with just Anya for a bit, so Penelope was fine with it.

Looping her arm through Anya's, she continued down the path they were taking. "Soo..." she said, not sure where to start. They were supposed to be talking about certain stuff, but there was kinda a lot to talk about. Ish. At least, she thought so. Surely stuff both of them had to share...but who/what to begin with?

Anya had a gigantic smile on her face. And for good reason too. It was springtime. And she was off on a walk with one of her favorites.

And more importantly - they had matching dresses! Thanks to the brilliance of a duplicating spell. And a shrinking one. Penne was a bit smaller than the older Gryffindor. But that was besides the point.

The point was, they were on a walk! And then had things to discuss. Liiiiiike. The new word that Penne and her boyboy were sharing. Because. She wanted to hear that story. She knew it had been coming, they'd talked about it before. But the fact that it did was crazy exciting.

"Soo... anniversary?" she asked filling the silence. She assumed that's the day it happened. That idea had been dropped in previous discussions anyway.

Well...that was an acceptable place to start, she supposed, having just come back from Easter break. Penelope DID kinda want to talk about it. Because it was exciting! And weird. And hard to process. But in a good way. A really good way.

"I told him," she said, deciding this was the main part Anya was looking for, considering the talk they'd had about it awhile back. "It just sorta...came out." After all that thinking about it, she didn't even really properly plan when exactly to say it. Not that she really planned anything and in some ways it shouldn't really be planned but...yeah. Still. She could've had a better build up to it or something. "He kinda freaked out." Which he probably still would have anyway probably, plan or not. So...forget planning or any thought or consideration of it. "But...he said the same." Was she blushing? Psh. No. Of course not. Well maybe a little. Because remembering it still was just kinda...weird/cool/awesome/exciting/asdfghjkl/etc.

Anya nodded enthusiastically as she talked. Yep. She told him. Anya figured that. And it sort of came out. Didn't that always happen? He figured out. Guys did that sort of thing.

And when she was done talking, Anya noticed her friend's blush. She squeed out loud and jumped up and down a little on the spot.

... and this is why she didn't have many girl friends. Anya was very... over enthusiastic about girl talks. She hardly ever had them for this reason in fact.

That. And she didn't like talking about her feelings.

"Congratulations!" she said in an excited singsong voice. She then gave her friend a hug. "I'm so happy for you two." She seriously meant that. Penne was an amazing person, and she was glad that the younger girl was happy.

The squeeing and jumping up and down? Yeah, that was Penelope was doing on the inside. Not the outside though because...well, she just didn't do that. So it was good that Anya did it for her. The third year WAS definitely grinning though, and she happily returned the hug.

"Thanks." She was glad that Anya was happy. Or...well, she was happy, wasn't she, aside from being happy for her?

"What about you?" Penelope asked. "You and Jake?" She knew their stuff was weirdly complicated but they still loved each other, but now they were "official" again. Boyfriend and girlfriend. That was what she'd heard, at least, since neither of them had actually technically told her about it. She'd found out at the same time everyone else had as far as she knew. So...she was curious. Genuinely curious and concerned, because she cared. She wanted them to be happy too.

Lex wasn't really paying much attention to Aidan while she plucked away at the plant. The most she caught was when he said she might have a lucky day. She looked up at him with a grin. "You think so--" The grin slowly faded when she saw the look on his face.

...

"Um...you okay...?"

He looked like someone had stolen his candy or something but 'cept that couldn't be it because she was standing right there and she would have noticed if someone thought they were brave enough to steal candy. They would have had some nerve and she trusted that Aidan would have at least half screamed so she would know to protect her own illegal candy. It was only right. He would have already lost his so he should have wanted to protect hers...then she'd probably share...probably. These were desperate candy times, OKAY???

Blink. Blink.

He was still going on about the flobberworms?? Really?? No wait. She had to be supportive here. Boys were funny when it came to things they were interested in and if her friend decided that he liked flobberworms then she would care.

"Look, we could probably go and ask Professor Newlin for some Flobberworms...it's no big deal. I think she'd have plenty." You know..after he was done grieving or whatever.

Anya, after the hug the two Gryffindor girls shared, once again started walking. Her arm remained in it's spot looped through her friend's arm. It was like... girl code or something like that.

But. Yay! Her Penne was cute! And happy. And in lurrrrrve. This was crazy exciting.

"You know. We should go to Paris again this summer. Maybe spend a few days there instead of just one?" She could find a way to make that work. "And I was actually talking to Jake about it. He thinks we should again." You know, because she needed to know that Jake was cool with the idea. "I was also thinking... maybe we could get jobs together this summer... It'll keep us busy. And... you won't have to nick money from your grandparents then." Actually, Anya was hoping that Penne would just stay with her and not go back to her Grandparent's at all. But she wasn't going to push that topic. She already offered Penne a place at her house.

She bit her lip and nodded. "Yep. Me and Jake." She... wasn't sure how to properly elaborate on that. Or if she should. "Sorry you sort of found out like everyone else did. I needed some time to think on my own, you know?"

And so the walk continued, still arm-in-arm, and Penelope was relieved that she finally got to talk about it. Or...was "relieved" the right word? Maybe just...happy. But she felt like she used that a lot... But either way, she was glad to have finally been able to talk about it with someone. A girl someone, at least, since she had sorta told West about it the other day. But Anya was who she'd talked with about it beforehand, so it was kinda different.

Paris this summer? Hmm. That'd be fun. Just Anya, Jake, her... "You want me to talk to Ascanius about it?" Because she assumed Anya was implying that, considering they'd all gone together last summer for a day and he was the only one among them that she knew who actually spoke French. So unless they wanted to carry around a translating book all day or hire a translator...well, Penelope definitely preferred bringing her boyfriend to Paris than some random weird translator person. And she totally wasn't biased, pfft. "I'm sure he'll say yes. It'll be fun." Especially if they got to stay for a few days. That'd give them lots of time to explore the city properly.

Summer jobs too? Hmm...interesting... "What kinda job?" Hopefully something fun, not boring... Having her own money did sound nice though, especially if it meant less dependence on her grandparents. Or, technically, her uncle, since he was the one who usually took her places and bought her school stuff, but it was all the same. And even then, it was only for the bare minimum. He generally didn't go out of his way to buy her anything he didn't have to. Atticus was the one who bought her anything else because he wanted to, but it would be nice if she could be less of a burden to him too. Even if he didn't think of her as one.

Right, now...Anya and Jake. Penelope nodded. "Yeah, I understand." And she did. She and Ascanius had kept their relationship quiet at first too...though Penelope had made it a point to tell Anya first when they'd decided they were ready to announce it. But...the situations were sorta different, she supposed. And she wasn't really mad about neither Jake nor Anya telling her, just...surprised. Or something. Nothing very bad though. "Are you happy about it?"

Anya nodded. "'Course. It wouldn't be the same without him." And she didn't mean that just because he was the only one that spoke French. It was a double date last time, and it should rightfully be one this time. "Plus... Jake is trying this new maturity thing... and it'll be interesting to see how that works out in close quarters with Ascanius."

Yeah. Girlfriend of the year right here. Heh.

Anya smiled a little at her question. "Working at Puddlemere." she said. "I wrote Carter's boss the other day explaining why hiring students would be much more useful for certain things. And how it would keep me out of trouble. And how we could moderate the amount of autographs that went out and that sort of thing." Yup. Anya's little business brain had been ticking like crazy lately. "Anyway... things like ticketing... tours... concessions... I could probably get Ascanius one too." In case she was wondering. "It would be fun to all get out and get together. And... it would ensure we all hang out a lot and get some money."

Ooh. Was she happy? "Yeah. I mean. ... yeah. I'm nervous. Crazy nervous. I'm not the world's best girlfriend or anything like that. And I dunno..." Maybe she should back up. "He wanted to get back together like... immediately after we broke up." Which was stupid. He was right to dump her. "I said no, of course, since... I needed time to get everything together... But we were talking the other day... and he asked again. I freaked." Which was kind of understatement. "Then I just decided... I wanted to be his girlfriend more than I was scared to be..." And then, just like that, they were together again.

Good, she wasn't wrong for assuming that. Because it had been fun last time with all four of them, and it wouldn't be the same without him. Plus, she'd miss him, and she tried to avoid that during breaks and summertime since she had to do that during school. Hopefully that would change next year though. Maturity thing? "Yeah, that'll be interesting." And if nothing else, maybe they'd just ignore each other instead of fighting. Because Penelope was always torn between amusement and annoyance whenever they did. So ignoring would be good for all of them, yep.

Puddlemere? Quidditch. That sounded neat! Although it didn't sound like they were getting to play it, which was kinda a bummer. Penelope could probably use the practice, instead of just waiting until next term. But still, it seemed like a win-win situation, getting to sorta hang out and earn money for things at the same time. "I'll ask him about that too then. It sounds fun." She had no idea whether he'd be interested in it, but maybe. No harm in asking, definitely, especially if it still meant more time together.

Penelope was gonna say something about the "not being the world's best girlfriend" part, but Anya kept going, so she continued listening instead for the moment as the older girl explained how it happened. She wasn't at all surprised Jake had wanted to get back together immediately, but she didn't blame Anya at all for saying no then. That probably was a good decision in the long run for both of them to figure things out. And now look? They were together and, maybe, even better than before. "Why does it scare you, being his girlfriend?" She was genuinely curious. "You don't really have to do anything that much different to what you were doing before." After all, they were in love and they knew it and it wasn't like they hid it or stopped showing affection for each other when they weren't "together."

"Yeah, maybe," he shrugged, "And it was a British clover so that might have made it even luckier. Though surely not as lucky as if it were Irish, probably. Unless you ruined the luck by plucking it apart." Another shrug. Maybe Lex would be lucky, maybe she wouldn't. Oh well. It wasn't him. And it wasn't going to be him.

Sigh.

...Oh, his face showed his disappointment and shock and hurt and everything didn't it? Aidan cleared his throat and put on his best fake smile, "Yeah I'm fine." Totally fine. Whatever.

Ask Professor Newlin? "Erm....No, that's okay. I didn't really need them. We can do something else instead." It was never about flobberworms and they really weren't any fun unless you dug them out yourself anyway. Except for potions. But it was never about potions, either. So... "Have anything in mind?"

It was interesting how Anya, her best friend, and their boyfriends did things together despite the two boys not getting along. But it worked. They all worked well enough. Plus, it was sort of amusing watching the boy's fight. Jake usually ended up making his cute angry face and getting all flustered. Anya found it strangely adorable. Not that she'd tell him of course.

She nodded. "Sounds great. Lemme know what he says. I'm also going to be talking to Ariana. I don't want her to..." Her voice trailed off. She thought that the Snake probably didn't want Anya to be blabbing personal information. Especially about her family issues. "I invited her to stay at my place a few days over the summer too." She'd just throw that out there. So Penne wouldn't be surprised if she did come stay and the Slytherin did too.

Oh. Yeah. Anya probably should have figured that question was coming. She bit her lower lip and fidgeted a little. "Well... I guess... you know how when you put labels on something... the expectations change...?" Maybe. Probably. Penne seemed the type to get it. "It's a lot of things I guess... Mostly I just... don't want to let him down again." She wiped her eyes quickly. "Everyoneexpectsmeto." And it did bother her. As much as she denied it. And she knew that it bothered Jake. As much as he denied it. And she couldn't help but wonder if he sometimes agreed with people. Like he expected her to mess up too.

Mo had skinned knees from chasing a particularly swift grasshopper, skinned palms from climbing a tree to retrieve a spider (with web, of course), and leaves and twigs in his hair from climbing into a bush after a cluster of really lovely Holly Blue butterflies. So basically he was a mess, but he was well pleased with his collection of insects. He'd even managed a Painted Lady, which was pretty unusual this early in the year.

But to really round out his biome, Mo needed some reptiles or amphibians. Sure, a red squirrel would please him to no end, but it would be way too big for his glass jar... plus it would break Mo's heart if he accidentally killed it. Actually, it would break his heart to kill any of his creatures, but he was especially fond of mammals.

In search of other creatures, Mo crawled along the pathway on his hands and knees, constantly on the look out for anything that looked familiar. He crawled over a rock and nearly put his hand right on an adder sunning itself there. Lucky thing, too, on account of that was a poisonous snake... although not deadly. He didn't feel bad at all about putting that thing in his biome. Teach it not to bite at people.

Once the adder was sufficiently confined within his bag, Mo flipped the rock over... just in case there was another snake beneath. Nope. No snakes... but there was a common lizard, which would do nicely. Mo might even pull the tail off and mail it to Vivi for funsies. Maybe.

Dylan was rushing to practice...It was tacky to be late for your own practice, of course...being the Captain and all...but he'd forgotten. It was just that simple. Shame.

Along the way...he may or may not have stumbled...just a little. It happened when one was running at break neck speeds...It turned out to be a good thing, though...because on his way down, the Slytherin Captain spied SPIDERS...and he briefly remembered that he'd wanted some for his Herbology homework assignment...and they looked like the right kind because they were little and black with no other markings. Yes, he was going to stop and collect them.

Quickly fishing a tiny glass jar out of his bag with scraped up fingers, Dylan twisted the top and off and began slowly and carefully scooping them up. It took several minutes due to them being fast little buggers...but he'd FINALLY succeeded. Sealing the lid back up...(and poking a tiny hole so they could breath), the Slytherin tucked the jar away for later use.

He'd get started after practice...

Penelope nodded. She'd let Anya know as soon as she found out. Ariana? She would be there too? That was fine with Penelope. She didn't know the older girl very well, but she liked her well enough. Especially since they all had had that dream... "That'll be fun." She did notice the trailing off but decided not to address it. There was probably a reason Anya didn't say whatever it was.

She nodded again. Yeah, that was true. Expectations did sorta change once you took the step from friends-but-kinda-more-than-friends to boyfriend/girlfriend. She pulled Anya a bit closer when she saw her getting a bit teary. Everyone expected her to let him down? "I don't expect that." So no, it wasn't everyone. "And I don't think you will." Maybe they'd fight over silly stuff, but Penelope didn't think what had happened before would happen again.

She gave him a curious look when he mentioned that she might have ruined her luck. "Really? You think so?" She stared down at the fallen leaves and gave it a moment's thought. It wasn't that she believed in luck because well, she didn't, one made their own luck by manipulating a situation and sometimes even people, but the idea was curious nonetheless.

Her gaze rested on him again when he said he was fine.

Weeeeell, she had no reason to not believe him. Flobberworms weren't all that cool anyway so she didn't expect him to stay upset about them for too long. Good thing he was already being such a strong trooper.

Further proof that he really had gotten over it was him refusing to see Professor Newlin. Yuuuuup, definitely gotten over. "Exactly, no need to mope and I have the perfect idea. If you've got nothing better doing we could always go flying around for a bit. What do you think?" This was actually the part where he chimed in saying just how brilliant her idea was. It was fine. She'd wait to let it hit him. He was a Ravenclaw afterall.

Anya nodded. "I thought so too." It would be like... a reunion party of sorts. Except. Happy and productive. Unlike that dream had been.

Anya nodded a little as Penne spoke. She turned afterwards and gave the younger lion a hug. "Thanks." She continued hugging her friend for several more seconds before letting go. "... I feel like you... and Ariana... are the only ones remotely supportive."

Well... minus Dylan. But Dylan was Jake's friend, not hers. Maybe hers? Meh. She didn't quite know what to call the relationship there.

She then started walking again. "I overheard Jake talking with Alice the other day..." she said quietly. "And... ..." she went quiet. "I guess I just realized... I don't have too many friends. So... thanks for being one."

Penelope smiled. "You thought right." Mhm. And...it seemed like she had a lot to look forward to this summer, now that she thought about it. That was good. Maybe this summer would be the best one yet. The past couple...hadn't been all that great at times. Some good things happened, but a lot of bad stuff too... But maybe they would be good from now on. The good would outweigh any bad that might occur.

The third year hadn't been expecting a hug, but she hugged her friend back tightly until she pulled away. She and Ariana were the only ones who were supportive? That made her frown a little. Because that was kinda sad, wasn't it? That only two people out of all the people who should be supportive actually were? "I'm glad there're at least some of us who are." And who were decent friends. But, somehow, she managed to not say that, even though she had certain people - or a person - in mind.

Penelope squeezed Anya's arm gently at what she said next. "You're welcome. I'm happy being one of your friends, y'know." She did mean that. They'd had their ups and downs in their friendship, but Penelope was glad that they'd stuck together through it all. Anya was one of the best people she knew, even if Anya herself didn't always see it.

There was only one reason why Kat was outside the castle in the middle of the night. It was allowed to be outside at this time, right? Well yeah it wasn't. But there was an exemption to that. It was part of their Astronomy assignment to stargaze out in the grounds. That meant if any Professor decided to place her in detention, she had an excuse. Anyway, if it wasn't for homework she wouldn't be outside the grounds anyway.

She decided to check if the pathways would be a nice place to see her star and the asterism it shared with Elise's star, Lapin. They were probably doing well being twin stars up there in the heavens right? She had binoculars in hands because her naked eye probably wouldn't be able to see two stars sticking together.

When she arrived at the pathways, Kat looked up and used her binoculars. The Slytherin was looking for her star and the asterism, but with so many stars up there it looked pretty impossible. All she saw were stars. SCATTERED stars. Goodness, this seemed impossible. Even if it wasn't as cold as those Christmas nights, it was STILL cold. Thank goodness she had a sweater right now. Anyway... maybe she'd be able to find her star asterism in a different location.

Ahem... move away.

He just shrugged. "No way of knowing now." So it hardly mattered what kind of luck Lex may or may not encounter. And it certainly didn't matter to HIM because it wasn't HIS luck. She STOLE it. But it was time to move on, Aidan.

Moving on.

The perfect idea? His eyes lit up a bit in curiosity. Er...flying? That wasn't as...troublemaking as he'd expected an idea to be, coming from Lex. However, he was never against going for a fly. "Cool," he smiled. Maybe it'll help him forget about this clover incident.

Oo yay they were going flying. It was good when Aidan could admit to hearing a good idea, especially the ones that came from her. Those were the best ideas afterall. She grinned at him. "Great! I'm heading back to my dorm for my broom you should too, then meet me by the pitch."

There was a quick nod of confirmation before she ran off.

'Flying' would be fun.

Yup.